Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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“Is everyone alright?”

After the situation was mostly sorted out, Haiven gathered the scattered team members in one place to check their status.

Of course, contrary to Haiven’s worries, no one had any direct injuries from the demon. Only Jeokpoong, who had been swept away by a mound of bones, had a minor abrasion.

“I’m fine. I can keep moving.”

Everyone nodded at Jeokpoong’s response. It seemed that the excitement from the unexpectedly anticlimactic battle still hadn’t settled down.

I felt the same way. After all, weren’t these chosen members exactly for dealing with such situations? In a situation with no injuries, no one wished to return to the base camp.

A faint breath created a slight flicker of flame. Kalbain’s Mana, drawn up to the extreme, enveloped my whole body, gradually revealing the form of a dragon.

Red scales rising on my back, horns sprouting from my head, and a plump tail sticking out from under my backside.

“Seris, what is that…?”

Foldrin’s surprised reaction as he looked at me was rather amusing. This must be the first time encountering me in this form. I couldn’t help but chuckle and swish my tail playfully.

At that moment, Jeokpoong, who had been observing the situation, approached Haiven and spoke.

“Hey, old man. Everyone looks fine, so how about we keep going?”

“Hmm…”

Haiven frowned at Jeokpoong’s words. He cast his gaze toward the other side of the forest covered in white bones and spoke.

“I think it would be better to turn back.”

“That’s an incomprehensible choice…”

“Why is that?”

“For some reason…”

Many voiced their doubts about Haiven’s choice. While they were ready to comply with his words, putting away their weapons and packing their belongings, they still looked to Haiven for an explanation.

“There was quite an intense battle. Yet, there haven’t been any notable reactions from other scouting teams. If a huge surge of mana was felt across the forest, would you all just stand idly by?”

“That is…”

“Indeed…”

Haiven was right. The members selected for the scouting team were all formidable. There was no way they wouldn’t notice the immense mana roiling from a distance.

“There are more than just a few oddities. Perhaps…”

Feeling a sense of unease, I drew up my mana. The blazing flames slowly began to change into starlight, gathering around me.

Above that, a shining star rose up.

“Seris. That magic is…”

“Yes. It’s the Guiding Star, Rain.”

“Did you use it to try to return to the base camp? But why five of them…”

As Rain pointed out, the number of Guiding Stars I summoned was a total of five. That was excessively many to be called upon just for returning to the base camp. It was only natural for Rain to question it.

“Just in case. I was trying to gauge the positions of the other scouting teams.”

I gathered the drifting starlight into my palm. The five brilliantly shining stars began to rotate slowly, each gaining its own purpose.

At that moment, the stars started to move outwards. The radiant starlight flew into the dark forest, leaving long tails behind.

“This is…”

I frowned. Although five starlights flew into the forest, all but one became entangled and began to point in the same direction.

The four stars were set to follow the leaders of the other scouting teams, the vice tower masters of each tower. The fact that such stars were congregating in one place meant that every team besides us had gathered for some reason.

Additionally, it differed from the location pointing to the base camp, amplifying the ominous feeling.

“Seris. That magic is…”

Recognizing the effect of my magic, the Guiding Star, Haiven could only frown at the position of the stars.

“What should we do…?”

I asked Haiven while gazing at the twinkling stars. It was clear that there was a problem with the other scouting teams, but we couldn’t dismiss the probability that something had also happened at the base camp.

After a brief silence, Haiven made his decision.

“Let’s return to the base camp first. We should mobilize forces to check the status of the other scouting teams.”

The leader’s command was issued. In the end, everyone, including me, had no choice but to return to the base camp.

We ran while stomping on the mounds of bones covering the forest floor. Eventually, we spotted the base camp.

The appearance of the base camp showed considerable differences from before we left; now, it was no longer a small wooden fence but had been replaced by a tall wall.

“The base camp seems to be intact.”

“That’s a silver lining… Are there no notable movements from the other scouting teams?”

I nodded at Haiven’s question, still observing the four stars pointing in one direction. I hadn’t yet dismissed the Guiding Stars, so they continued to circle around me, indicating the locations of the other scouting teams in real time.

“We need to hurry…”

After returning to the base camp, Haiven moved very quickly. The personnel from our scouting team remained unchanged, but additional troops with rapid mobility were summoned. A temporary special unit with several priestesses included for treatment was organized to prepare for potential emergencies.

“Let’s set off.”

***

“There seems to be no end in sight…”

A middle-aged man in a bulky wizard’s robe, with a muscular build, muttered, reflecting the name of the tower of twilight, Deputy Tower Master Leo.

His sharp eyes scanned the surrounding area, but all that entered his view was the thick darkness and the occasional appearance of the undead. There was no sign of the team he was traveling with.

At that moment. As Leo’s extremely trained body detected a slight movement, a powerful blow tore through the air.

Crack-!

The skeleton struck by Leo’s fist crumbled to bone dust without even a hint of resistance.

The darkness enveloping this area must surely be the work of a demon or a dark mage. A formidable one at that.

Not only was vision restricted by dark magic, but hearing and smell were also muddied. The only thing that kept Leo standing was the enhanced sensitivity of his highly trained body and the mental strength he honed as a wizard.

The longer they took, the more unfavorable the situation would become. Leo had no choice but to begin drawing up his mana. As the mana that strengthened his body slipped away momentarily, his physique weakened, but Leo, who had never neglected his training, felt little difference.

When the extremely activated mana was concentrated in one spot, Leo gathered his hand in a specific way, forming a complex hand sign.

A wizard builds an inner world that becomes the source of their magic from the moment of their birth. What Leo was trying to do now was to summon that inner world to the outside.

Manifestation of the inner world
Repeat…

Swish!

“Cough…!”

However, Leo’s magic was ultimately not completed. The mana scattered due to a black hand that pierced through his chest.

[This is the third one.]

A strange voice echoed, a vibration using mana rather than vocal cords. Leo realized that the one piercing through his heart was the very cause of the darkness surrounding him.

Frowning, Leo turned around. The figure piercing his chest slowly became visible.

Wrapped in darkness like a cloak, it vaguely took on a human form, but its eyes were not of a human being.

There was no distinct smell of a corpse typical of the undead. It was undoubtedly a demon.

Leo recalled what the demon had said. This was the third time. It meant that, excluding him, two others had already fallen to the demon.

He didn’t know who had fallen. However, judging from the fact that the demon had ambushed them while they were preparing for a long-casting spell, it was likely that the ones who fell were the wizards.

Leo cautiously checked the demon while slightly moving his body. His arms and legs could move. The slight pain only meant that the control over his mana had momentarily faltered, not that he was on the brink of death.

Leo smiled. At the same time, he thought that at least he could end this one.

With a snap-!

Leo’s enormous hand grasped the demon’s hand that was piercing through his chest. Furthermore, the muscles around his chest contracted to tightly bind the demon’s arm.

[W-what the hell… How…!]

The demon began to thrash as if in a fit due to Leo’s sudden action. As a result, the wound on Leo widened, causing more blood to pour out, but he did not let go of the demon’s hand until the end.

Slowly, Leo began to speak. In order to complete the magic that had not been finished.

Manifestation of the inner world
Cycle of repetition

Boom-!

A massive surge of mana began to stir, and a wizard’s inner world was beginning to manifest to the outside. The world created began to take on the shape of a sphere about three meters in diameter centered on Leo.

It was too cramped to call it another world. The surrounding environment was no different from before.

[W-what have you done…? What the hell…?]

Leo did not respond to the demon’s question. He simply turned his body and swung his fist.

The enormous mana-wrapped fist surged forth like a mountain’s momentum and struck the demon’s body.

Boom-!

[Graahh-!]

Like an explosion, a massive blast erupted, and the demon’s body was buried deep into the ground. As the demon was slammed beneath the earth, it realized that it had lost the hand stuck in Leo’s chest.

However, the demon couldn’t continue its thoughts. It couldn’t even escape from its place.

Boom-!

As if time was rewinding, the events of a moment before repeated.

Boom-!

Without a margin of error, the punch that hit landed once more. Dozens of blows struck the demon’s body, mashing it into a lump of flesh.

The only thing that turned back in time was Leo’s body. His physique, having swung his fist, rewound as it repeated the actions set in motion.

Boom-!

The endless repetition, the belief that infinite training is what enhances one’s skills, created this current form of the inner world of Leo, the deputy tower master of Twilight Tower.

Boom-!

With over a hundred repeated actions, the ground began to crater. The demon, beaten by the fist, mixed with the earth, turned into a bloody paste, but Leo did not stop.

He knew that the moment he halted this magic, his life would come to an end.

Calmly, Leo awaited his own death while watching the duration of the activated magic come to a close.

Once again, as time rewound, Leo’s body took the stance to swing his fist.

From beyond the darkness, a golden thread shimmered, and the figure of a girl with a plump red tail began to appear, swishing playfully.